Sharing Success & Vision to Make Homelessness Rare, Brief and Nonrecurring
Our Director of Mental Health and Housing Initiatives Courtney Cross had a busy October sharing her expertise in area of homelessness at the Texas Homeless Network (THN) Conference on Ending Homelessness in Houston and the 9th Annual Housing and Urban Development Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD VASH) Summit in Fort Worth.
Courtney shared the history of the Denton County Homelessness Leadership Team and the power of collective impact to implement innovative solutions such as the
Barriers Fund in her presentation to THN titled "What Barriers? How Denton County Addresses Barriers for Households Experiencing Homelessness." The presentation walked through logistics of fund creation, implementation, and future goals, as well as inspiring other communities of similar size to continue to fight for state and federal dollars to meet the need.
As part of a panel discussing our goal to End Veteran Homelessness in Denton County by 2020, Courtney presented our
Homelessness Data Dashboard at the HUD VASH Summit to show how we identify Veterans experiencing homelessness and shared next steps to seek additional funding and resources to meet the needs of Veterans experiencing or at-risk of homelessness.
Peterbilt Shines at Pride & Class Parade
The Denton Square shined extra bright when owners of 50 custom-built Peterbilt trucks from across the United States and Canada rolled through on October 11th for the fourth annual Peterbilt Pride & Class Parade. Hundreds of truck aficionados lined the route to see the tricked-out trucks. Over $21,000 was raised towards Peterbilt’s United Way campaign.
“The first Pride and Class Parade in 2016 was such a success with the community and Peterbilt employees that it became an annual event,” said Jason Skoog, PACCAR Vice President and Peterbilt General Manager. “This year, we saw a nearly ten-fold increase in donations raised to support United Way compared to the 2016 event. We are honored by this opportunity to give back to Denton and the local community.”
Denton County's Got Talent!
First United Bank put out the call for talent, and Denton County answered at the first annual Denton County’s Got Talent event, generating $1,250 towards their United Way campaign. Seventeen talents took the stage at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studio in Denton to perform acts which included a variety of vocalists from opera to country, musicians, and even a belly dancer! The evening’s judges were Denton Community Theater President Donna Trammell, Denton Chamber President Erica Pangburn, Denton County Deputy Hino Hinojosa, and our very own CEO Gary Henderson. Bret Crow won the event with his skill on the guitar.
Standing Together to Serve Veterans Experiencing Homelessness
The Denton Civic Center buzzed with activity as the community united to serve Veterans in need at the 5th Annual Homeless Veterans Stand Down & Resource Fair. Paired with a community volunteer, Veterans were escorted through the resource fair where they learned about available services for housing, benefits, peer support, transportation, food, and more. Veterans were showered with gift cards, bus passes, sleeping bags and blankets, toiletries, coats, thermals, dog food, socks, and snacks. Professionals were on hand to give flu shots and test blood pressure and hearing. The haircut was a highlight for many Veterans with one even dancing down the aisle following his trim! The VA provided boots and volunteers grilled burgers and hot dogs for lunch. At the conclusion of the Stand Down, several vendors donated their remaining items to the Denton County Veterans Center which filled a SUV and will serve Veterans and their families for months to come!
Honored to Stand Up for Texas Students
Thanks to support from our UWDC family of volunteers, board members, generous donors, and network of partners, we were honored with the “Stand Up for Public Schools” award presented by Northwest Independent School District and Superintendent Dr. Ryder Warren through the Texas Association of School Boards. We are proud to work together to support Texas public schools in our community and the children and families across Denton County who succeed as a result.
